By By Andrew Drwiega, International Bureau Chief/Consultant | March 12, 2013

Emergency Medical Service, Offshore, Utility

The shock news of the day is that longstanding head of Eurocopter, Dr. Lutz Bertling, plans to leave the EADS division in favor of Berlin-based Bombardier Transportation, where he will take the top post of president and chief operating officer. The announcement is surprising in part because it comes less than a week after Bertling made an appearance at Heli-Expo in Las Vegas, giving no indication of the move.

Guillaume Faury, 45, will succeed Bertling. Faury comes from Peugeot S.A., where he held the position of executive vice president for research and development.

Bertling, 50, was appointed CEO of Eurocopter in November 2006, taking over from Fabrice Brégier, who moved onwards and upwards within EADS to become COO of Airbus. Bertling was quick to build upon the dynamically developing helicopter company that Brégier had left and continued if not accelerated its momentum, making Eurocopter one of the fastest-developing helicopter manufacturers in the world.

He will be missed. Tom Enders, EADS, chief executive officer stated: “I regret that Lutz is leaving Eurocopter and the EADS Group to pursue a new challenge outside the aerospace world. We owe Lutz a lot. In his six and a half years at the helm of Eurocopter, he led the company successfully through a period of strong growth and also a deep economic crisis. During his tenure Eurocopter became more international, more innovative, and overall, more competitive.”

Faury returns to Eurocopter, where he was employed between 1998 and 2008. His roles included chief engineer for the EC225/ 725 program, head of the heavy helicopter flight test department, executive vice president for commercial programs and executive vice president for research and development, not to mention being a member of the Eurocopter Executive Committee.

Bertling’s resignation is effective April 30, 2013, with his start date at Bombardier Transportation set for early June. He replaces André Navarri, who is retiring.Related:Airframe News